O my goodness. So the past three days have been extremely exhausting, but totally fun. We arrived here in Pucón on Sunday morning at about 830, having taken an 11 hour bus ride overnight from Santiago. We didn’t have anything to do, and the weather was rainy and miserable. We consulted the guidebook pages that we had ripped out and brought along, and decided to make our way to a vegetarian restaurant/hostel that served breakfast. We sat there for two and a half or three hours, talking with some of the other kids there, including a German chick who had been on our bus. Then we met a rugged Canadian man who walked us to a internet café/adventure place. He recommended we go to the hot springs. So we did, to Termas de los Pozones, or ... read more

I’m sorry that it’s been so long since I updated. I can’t even remember the last thing I said. I’ve been busy, but you probably wouldn’t know it based on what I recount here. Keep in mind that the average commute to any given place is between 30 and 45 minutes, depending on time of day and how I combine Micro (buses) and Metro (subway). And I’ve also had homework this last week, which has not been a regular thing throughout the session, thank goodness. I have a final tomorrow at 3 and a paper and final on Thursday. After that, we’re out of here on an overnight bus south to Pucón on Friday. Probably. Maybe Saturday night. We’re still kind of winging it all. The downside is I’ve been sick. I have a cold. It ... read more

Valparaíso is a weird city. Weird, but beautiful. Mostly. We certainly made the most of our short weekend there. The bus ride out to the coast cost $6000 round trip, or about $6 USD each way, and was about 1 hour 15 minutes. We got off the bus with our backpacks and started walking south in search of a hostel on the other side of the city. At the top of Cerro Concepción we discovered a pink and green building, Casa Familiar Carrasco, in which we found lodging, breakfast and a gorgeous roof view included. After dropping off our crap, we wandered downhill through alleys and stairwells in search of dinner. Along one of the main flat roads, we noticed a large quantity of American flags in the window. We wandered in and announced that we ... read more

I started classes today. My schedule could not be sweeter, unless the days here were longer. The sun sets about 615 or 630, so it gets dark fairly early. I have Latin American History MW 3-5 and Chile's Native Cultures of the South TH 3-5. I never have to wake up early! Word on the street is that some students are taking over a building tonight and there will be some protests tomorrow. For those of you who don't know, students in Santiago have been protesting the education system, I think because they lack the basic supplies they need for learning, like books, etc. The police have been using sewage water and tear gas to deter the students. I've not yet witnessed any of this, but apparently it got pretty violent last week when we were ... read more

Just a quick update. in an internet cafe in san pedro de atacama, a tourist-y uoasis of less than 2000 people in the driest desert in the world. today we went sandboarding in la valle de la muerte, or valley of the dead. there are no living organisms in the valley, except the sandboarders. its amazing here. pictures to follow when i can get back to my own computer. monday we explored, tuesday we watched the sun set in la valle de la luna, or valley of the moon, so named because it looks like an entirely different planet, wednesday (today) we met an atacamanian man. so good. so cool. i love it here.... read more